IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp6193.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Credit Constraints and Productive Entrepreneurship in Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Baliamoune-Lutz, Mina

    (University of North Florida)

  • Brixiova, Zuzana

    (UNECA)

  • Ndikumana, Leonce

    (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

Abstract

Limited access of entrepreneurs to credit constrains the creation and growth of private firms. In Africa, access to credit is particularly limited for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) due to unclear property rights and the lack of assets that can be used as collateral. This paper presents a model where firm creation and growth hinge on matching potential entrepreneurs with productive technologies, while firm growth depends on acquired capital. The shortage of collateral creates a binding credit constraint on borrowing by SMEs and hence private sector growth and employment, even though the banking sectors have ample liquidity, as is the case in many African countries. The model is tested using a sample of 20 African countries over the period 2005-09. The empirical results suggest that policies aimed at easing the binding credit constraints (e.g., the depth of credit information and the strength of legal rights pertaining to collateral and bankruptcy) would stimulate productive entrepreneurship and private sector employment in Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Baliamoune-Lutz, Mina & Brixiova, Zuzana & Ndikumana, Leonce, 2011. "Credit Constraints and Productive Entrepreneurship in Africa," IZA Discussion Papers 6193, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6193
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp6193.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pagano, Marco & Jappelli, Tullio, 1993. "Information Sharing in Credit Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(5), pages 1693-1718, December.
    2. Dercon, Stefan & Christiaensen, Luc, 2011. "Consumption risk, technology adoption and poverty traps: Evidence from Ethiopia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 159-173, November.
    3. Djankov, Simeon & McLiesh, Caralee & Shleifer, Andrei, 2007. "Private credit in 129 countries," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 299-329, May.
    4. Brown, Martin & Jappelli, Tullio & Pagano, Marco, 2009. "Information sharing and credit: Firm-level evidence from transition countries," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 151-172, April.
    5. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Law and Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December.
    6. Léonce Ndikumana & Mina Baliamoune-Lutz, 2007. "The Growth Effects of Openness to Trade and the Role of Institutions: New Evidence from African Countries," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2007-05, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.
    7. Philippe Aghion & Thibault Fally & Stefano Scarpetta, 2007. "Credit constraints as a barrier to the entry and post-entry growth of firms [‘Dualism and macroeconomic volatility’]," Economic Policy, CEPR;CES;MSH, vol. 22(52), pages 732-779.
    8. Rodrik, Dani & Iyigun, Murat, 2004. "On the Efficacy of Reforms: Policy Tinkering, Institutional Change and Entrepreneurship," CEPR Discussion Papers 4399, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Zoltan J. Acs & Attila Varga, 2008. "Entrepreneurship, Agglomeration and Technological Change," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 24, pages 341-352, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Zuzana Brixiova, 2010. "Unlocking Productive Entrepreneurship in Africa’s Least Developed Countries," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 22(3), pages 440-451.
    11. Jappelli, Tullio & Pagano, Marco, 2002. "Information sharing, lending and defaults: Cross-country evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(10), pages 2017-2045, October.
    12. Jun Qian & Philip E. Strahan, 2007. "How Laws and Institutions Shape Financial Contracts: The Case of Bank Loans," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(6), pages 2803-2834, December.
    13. Rainer Haselmann & Katharina Pistor & Vikrant Vig, 2010. "How Law Affects Lending," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(2), pages 549-580, February.
    14. Tullio Jappelli & Marco Pagano, 2000. "Information Sharing in Credit Markets: A Survey," CSEF Working Papers 36, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    15. Brixiova, Zuzana & Kiyotaki, Nobuhiro, 1997. "Private sector development in transition economies," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 241-279, June.
    16. Mina Baliamoune-Lutz, 2007. "Entrepreneurship, Reforms, and Development: Empirical Evidence," ICER Working Papers 38-2007, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Brixiova, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry, 2016. "Gender Disparities in Employment and Earnings in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Swaziland," IZA Discussion Papers 10455, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. David N Margolis, 2014. "By Choice and by Necessity: Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment in the Developing World," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 26(4), pages 419-436, September.
    3. Zuzana Brixiova & Thierry Kangoye, 2014. "Youth Unemployment in Africa: New Evidence and Policies from Swaziland," AIEL Series in Labour Economics, in: Dario Sciulli & Miguel Ángel Malo (ed.), Disadvantaged Workers, edition 1, chapter 9, pages 181-202, AIEL - Associazione Italiana Economisti del Lavoro.
    4. Mina Baliamoune-Lutz & Pierre Garello, 2014. "Tax structure and entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 165-190, January.
    5. Zuzana Brixiová & Thierry Kangoye & Fiona Tregenna, 2020. "Enterprising Women in Southern Africa: When Does Land Ownership Matter?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 37-51, March.
    6. Afra Hameli & Ilias Kampouris & Amal Kamal Machaal & Charilaos Mertzanis, 2021. "Financial Development, Institutions, Gender and Entrepreneurship in the United Arab Emirates," Asian Journal of Empirical Research, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 11(2), pages 11-22, February.
    7. Michael Sheriff & Moreno Muffatto, 2014. "Reviewing Existing Policies For Unleashing And Fostering Entrepreneurship In Selected African Countries," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 19(03), pages 1-36.
    8. Brixiova, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry, 2016. "Start-Up Capital and Women's Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Swaziland," IZA Discussion Papers 10279, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Sanjay Banerji & Rajesh S. N. Raj & Kunal Sen, 2016. "Monitoring Costs, Credit Constraints and Entrepreneurship," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 84(5), pages 573-599, September.
    10. Lewis-Landry GAKPA, 2023. "The effects of financial inclusion on entrepreneurship in SSA and the role of institutions," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania - AGER, vol. 0(4(637), W), pages 177-202, Winter.
    11. Orkhan Nadirov & Bruce Dehning, 2020. "Tax Progressivity and Entrepreneurial Dynamics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-21, April.
    12. Brixiová, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry & Yogo, Thierry Urbain, 2020. "Access to finance among small and medium-sized enterprises and job creation in Africa," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 177-189.
    13. Zuzana Brixiová & Thierry Kangoye, 2019. "Networks, start-up capital and women's entrepreneurial performance in Africa: Evidence from Eswatini," SALDRU Working Papers 257, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    14. Zuzana Brixiova & Thierry Kangoye, 2013. "Working Paper 175 - Youth Employment in Africa: New Evidence and Policies from Swaziland," Working Paper Series 472, African Development Bank.
    15. Roxana Gutierrez-Romero & Luciana Méndez Errico, 2015. "The Long-Term Impact of Inequality on Entrepreneurship and Job Creation," Working Papers wpdea1501, Department of Applied Economics at Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mina Baliamoune-Lutz & Zuzana Brixiov?? & L??once Ndikumana, 2011. "Credit Constraints & Productive Entrepreneurship in Africa," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp1025, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    2. Love, Inessa & Peria, Maria Soledad Martinez & Singh, Sandeep, 2013. "Collateral registries for movable assets : does their introduction spur firms'access to bank finance ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6477, The World Bank.
    3. Hainz, Christa, 2009. "Creditor passivity: The effects of bank competition and institutions on the strategic use of bankruptcy filings," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 582-596, December.
    4. Kalyvas, Antonios Nikolaos & Mamatzakis, Emmanuel, 2017. "Do creditor rights and information sharing affect the performance of foreign banks?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 13-35.
    5. Rainer Haselmann & Paul Wachtel, 2010. "Institutions and Bank Behavior: Legal Environment, Legal Perception, and the Composition of Bank Lending," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(5), pages 965-984, August.
    6. Kalyvas, Antonios Nikolaos & Mamatzakis, Emmanuel, 2014. "Does business regulation matter for banks in the European Union?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 278-324.
    7. Christophe Godlewski & Laurent Weill, 2011. "Does Collateral Help Mitigate Adverse Selection? A Cross-Country Analysis," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 40(1), pages 49-78, October.
    8. Theodora Bermpei & Antonios Nikolaos Kalyvas & Lorenzo Neri & Antonella Russo, 2019. "Will Strangers Help you Enter? The Effect of Foreign Bank Presence on New Firm Entry," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 56(1), pages 1-38, August.
    9. Araujo, Aloisio P. & Ferreira, Rafael V.X. & Funchal, Bruno, 2012. "The Brazilian bankruptcy law experience," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 994-1004.
    10. Bertrand, Jérémie & Klein, Paul-Olivier, 2021. "Creditor information registries and relationship lending," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    11. Houston, Joel F. & Lin, Chen & Lin, Ping & Ma, Yue, 2010. "Creditor rights, information sharing, and bank risk taking," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 485-512, June.
    12. Djankov, Simeon & McLiesh, Caralee & Shleifer, Andrei, 2007. "Private credit in 129 countries," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 299-329, May.
    13. Matsuoka, Tarishi & Naito, Katsuyuki & Nishida, Keigo, 2019. "The Politics Of Financial Development And Capital Accumulation," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(1), pages 358-383, January.
    14. Sutherland, Andrew, 2018. "Does credit reporting lead to a decline in relationship lending? Evidence from information sharing technology," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 123-141.
    15. Wu, Ji & Jeon, Bang Nam & Luca, Alina C., 2010. "Does Distance Affect the Performance of Foreign Banks? Evidence from Multinational Banking in Developing Countries," MPRA Paper 37083, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Feb 2012.
    16. Wang, Jin-Meng & Cheng, Teng Yuan, 2023. "Do the differences in legal systems hinder international enterprises’ debt financing?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    17. Jentzsch, Nicola, 2008. "An economic analysis of China's credit information monopoly," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 537-550, December.
    18. Büyükkarabacak, Berrak & Valev, Neven, 2012. "Credit information sharing and banking crises: An empirical investigation," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 788-800.
    19. Mathur, Ike & Marcelin, Isaac, 2015. "Institutional failure or market failure?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 266-280.
    20. Samuel Fosu & Henry Agyei‐Boapeah & Neytullah Ciftci, 2023. "Credit information sharing and cost of debt: Evidence from the introduction of credit bureaus in developing countries," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 58(4), pages 783-810, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    credit constraints; productive entrepreneurship; employment; policies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6193. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.